International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

Facilitating Self-Reliance by Fostering Autonomy to Generate Life and Career Skills

Self-proficiency and expertise, combined with the correct know-how, are the needs of future generation learners. The base for the same is cultivated at the school level. Research has proven that the attention span of students is becoming shorter day by day. Keeping them engaged in school is becoming increasingly challenging day by day. School life needs to be redesigned to make it more meaningful and to facilitate more self-proficient, responsible citizens in society. From childhood, if children are taught about various vocational skills and exposed to first-hand real-life experiences, then it will inculcate the dignity of labour as well as the characteristic of self-reliance. Automatically, interest is generated in the activities related to their choices. Students develop a keen and deep interest in their loved activities, as a result, they become resourceful and search out various possibilities of selecting a career if their choice and interest. Slowly, they start developing the skills required to perform their loved activities, and their base is becoming stronger day by day. The paper mentions the roadmap to provide such opportunities to students at the school level by allocating a special slot in the school schedule in the timetable and preparing and educating teachers to achieve these stated objectives. The kinds of varieties of exposure that can fulfill these objectives are discussed in the paper, which will generate various life skills and career skills, making students self-reliant, independent, and responsible for their own choices. At the end of the paper is concluded with a justification is provided related to the kind of significant duties and responsibilities that the formal system of education has. To fulfill the mission of NEP 2020 related to character building and preparing independent thinkers who will represent India at the global level with their own strategic plans designed for self, nation, and the world at large, to make it the best place to live Key words: NEP 2020, School education, life and career skills, global Connection